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Els ends PGA Tour drought at Florida's Honda Classic

03/03/2008

Ernie Els has ended a four-year wait for a PGA Tour title after edging Luke Donald to victory at the Honda Classic in Florida.

The world number four beat his English opponent by one stroke as he shrugged off a three-shot deficit to win his first tour title since the American Express Championship in 2004.

Els carded a final round three-under score of 67 to finish on six-under overall for the tournament.

"I really feel very grateful and happy," the South African said. "I've won tournaments around the world but obviously to win over here, it's been really my goal. So it's a great feeling."

Joint overnight leader Donald slipped to second after going round one-over par on 71, while Mark Calcavecchia and Matt Jones – who tied fourth with Robert Allenby - missed out after three-over scores of 73, allowing Nathan Green to finish third on four-under.

Strong winds in Florida had hampered the leaders' games, although Els shrugged off the conditions.

"Chasing, you need tough conditions because if the wind wasn't blowing, the leader shoots 66 and you've got no chance," he said afterwards.

"So I was happy that the wind blew and I knew that I'm not too bad of a wind player.

"I've played a lot of golf around the world, and obviously the British Open, so I felt quite comfortable with that. This has been a really wonderful week, never shooting over par on a very, very difficult golf course. So I'm very pleased."